Nine Lives
by onekisstotakewithmex
Summary: It all starts when Kate finds a kitten at a crime scene. And even Gibbs isn't unaffected by a cute little kitten- especially when Kate is involved. Kate Lives, Kibbs, set after Twilight.


She was searching for bullet casings when she heard it. She wasn't entirely sure that she wasn't hearing things.

She thought she could hear a cat.

Not in the fashion of McGee, the way he did when he stumbled onto an awkward situation, and would use an excuse of "oh no a cat in trouble" to escape (he did this frequently when he walked in on Kate and Gibbs arguing, which happened often).

Wait.

She turned, eager to see if Tony was there, if perhaps he'd graduated from hissing in her general direction to outright meowing at her (maybe it was time to put in a call to Director Morrow about mandatory psych evals? Surely they were long overdue by now) but no, Tony was at least twenty feet away, talking to a witness. As usual, his questions were interjected with movie references and barely-veiled accusations in equal measures.

And then, she spotted the bullet casing, lying in the grass, halfway underneath a rather mangy looking bush. After prepping an evidence bag, she knelt down, reaching for it, before she noticed the eyes staring at her from underneath the bush. Not entirely sure what she was looking at, she took a step backwards, proceeding then to bag and tag the casing. She knelt down again, feeling that her poor knees were getting the best workout in ages. She reached out, hoping to coax the cat – she hoped that it was indeed a cat and not a spiteful raccoon – out from under the bush. It wasn't as if she needed a pet, but if it was a stray, she could at least try and help.

Her coaxing was swiftly rewarded when a tiny black kitten crawled out from under the bushes and meowed at her. In contrast to the rest of it, its eyes were huge and staring at her. She petted it gently, as it purred, embracing this strange new reality. He – and as she picked him up she saw it was indeed a he – snuggled into her arms.

"Cute," she mumbled to herself, running a finger over the silky fur.

"Whaddaya got, Kate?" came the voice from behind her. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable lecture as she turned around, the evidence bag with the bullet casing tucked into her pocket.

"Bullet casing," she said, trying to be casual.

He gave her a lopsided grin, one that sent sparks flying regardless the fact that whatever flame had once glowed for him had been dampened to ashes. Apparently her fierce love for her boss was rising from the ashes. "Doesn't look like a bullet casin' to me, Kate."

"Well, Gibbs, it's a cat."

"I can see that, thank you Kate. Old, but not blind."

"Except when you lose your glasses," she countered.

"Ya plannin' on keepin' the cat, Kate? Lotta responsibility."

"I know that Gibbs, thanks. I'm not twelve."

"You work long hours."

"And whose fault is that?" she asked, as he turned to walk away.

He turned back to her. "An' remind me why ya need a cat in the first place?"

"I never said I was keeping it."

"Implied it." He grinned at his triumph in their never-ending battle of wits.

"Bastard," she muttered as she followed him back to the truck.

DiNozzo took one look at the cat and jumped back, bumping into McGee.

"Hey!" Tim complained.

"I finally have proof," DiNozzo whispered. "Kate's a witch."

"DiNozzo, come on, it's a cat," she responded.

"It's your familiar," DiNozzo retorted.

"Careful," Gibbs said with a grin as he walked past, "She'll turn ya into a frog, DiNozzo, and I won't blame her for it."

"Boss!" Tony complained. And then his eyes lit up as he turned back to Kate.

Tim muttered under his breath, "I feel a movie reference coming on."

"This is like _Hocus Pocus-_ ,"

"I've never heard of it," Tim said, looking confused.

"It's a classic!" Tony said, with a groan. "It's about three witches from 1600s Salem ending up in the nineties. What more could you want in a movie?"

"A good plot?" Tim asked.

Tony's mouth dropped open, but he turned back to Kate. "You should name it Binx, like in the movie."

"DiNozzo, I'm not naming the cat Binx, okay? I don't even know if I'm keeping it."

"Well if you're taking it with you in the truck, you're sitting in the back. I don't like cats."

The kitten popped its head up at that, and hissed at DiNozzo. He looked between her and the Kate, but she offered an innocent smile as though nothing had happened. Grumbling to himself, he climbed into the front seat. She looked back down at the cat, smiling to herself. "Don't like Tony, huh?" she asked. "He's not that bad, trust me." The cat kept looking at her, and she couldn't help but smile, as it snuggled into her arms.

"All right, I guess you're mine."

 **XNCISX**

Gibbs was not an easy man to amuse. But he had sent the boys off to follow a few leads while he followed a paper trail. Kate was talking to Abby, but she'd let the little kitten – which had clearly already won her over – run amok in the bullpen, thankfully mostly empty in the fading light of the day. Which is why when the kitten approached him and meowed, he just rolled his eyes.

The meowing was persistent, and not easily ignored, much like Caitlin Todd herself. He turned to the cat. "Ya really are her familiar, aren't ya?"

It blinked at him, as he scooped him up and set him on top of his desk. The kitten stood for a second, watching him like he was the most interesting thing he'd seen all day.

"And what's she gonna name ya anyway?" he asked, stroking the kitten as it purred softly, closing its eyes and rubbing against Gibbs' hand. "Somethin' lame probably, like Midnight or Onyx."

He could have sworn the cat rolled its eyes at the suggestions, and he chuckled as it continued trying to get as close as possible to Gibbs without falling off the desk. "If only ya were Kate," he mumbled to it. "She's never been this happy to see me."

He looked around, grateful that the bullpen was mostly empty, as he reached for the dog tags that were hanging on the wall behind his desk. He dangled them in front of the kitten and grinned as it batted at them, meowing as Gibbs moved them around. The cat was clearly trying to catch the dog tags, thinking them worthy prey, and Gibbs couldn't help but chuckle, watching the scene unfold.

So intent was he on playing with the kitten, he didn't notice Kate walking into the bullpen until it was too late. He felt as though he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't. He would even call himself embarrassed, though not out loud.

"So you approve of me keeping the cat?" she asked, and he dropped the dog tags into his lap, startled. The cat, not fazed by the change in venue leapt after them, curling up in his lap neatly.

"I never said that," he retorted, as she leaned against his desk smiling. "But yeah. You're right, Kate. Ya aren't twelve." He handed her the kitten, who snuggled into her arms, as she held it. Treading on dangerous ground though he was, he continued. "And I think a cat is perfect for ya."

"Oh?" she asked.

"Ya both seem to have nine lives," he commented lightly.

The smile on her face slipped for a second, and then dropped completely. "Gibbs…"

He felt guilty for bringing up what had happened when she'd jumped in front of a bullet, but continued. "An' maybe between the two of ya, you've got enough lives left."

"Yeah, of course." She understood. "Nine lives, that's cute Gibbs."

"I try, Katie cat." The name slipped out, and they both froze for a second.

"How long have you been waiting to use that?" she asked, attempting to sound casual.

"A long time." His voice was soft, and he wanted to change the subject. Desperately. He wasn't good at sentimental things. "What are ya gonna name this little pest?"

"I was thinking Lune."

"Lune?" he asked.

"It's… a movie reference."

He shook his head with a chuckle. "Ya spend too much time with Tony."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Ya didn't have to take the job, Kate." Though he would have hated it if she hadn't.

"No, I didn't."

"And ya didn't have to jump in the way of a bullet either," he said, standing up, and walking around his desk to where she stood.

"Oh yes I did," she said, tears glittering in her eyes.

He wanted so badly to lean down and kiss her, but forced himself not to. This was a dangerous road, one they couldn't afford to travel. The professional and personal consequences wouldn't be worth it. So instead he admonished the kitten. "All right, Lune, listen up. Ya gotta look after Kate here, and keep her safe. Give her a few of your lives so that this job doesn't kill her. Do it for me, okay?"

Lune looked up at him, blinked once, and then meowed at him. He took it as a yes, but when he looked back at Kate's face, she looked… confused. And then the confusion melted away, as she set Lune down on the carpet, before touching Gibbs' face. "Gibbs, please," she said.

"This is a terrible idea," he said softly.

She smiled at him, just as their lips were about to meet. "A cat always lands on their feet. It'll work out."

"And if it doesn't?" he asked, afraid.

"I've still got a few more lives left in me to work it out," she whispered, and then both gave in, waving the white flag, and kissing passionately as they possibly could in the empty bullpen as the sun set outside, her melting into him like she'd been waiting for him to do it forever.

He hoped only that he could spend the rest of her nine lives with her.


End file.
